Steam-generator.



No. 756,051. PATENTEDMAR. 29, 1904. M. H. PLUNKETT. STEAM GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18, I903.

6 SHEETSSHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

. 2027726621163: a l zzzxenioz' No. 756,051. PATENTED MAR. 29, 1904.

- H. PLUNKBTT.

STEAM GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY. 18, 1903.

N0 IODEL. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

202' Z 714mm 172 en Z0): I

' I hapizzmkszr fliz orney,

7 PATENTED MAR. 29, 1904. M. H. PLUNKETT.

STEAM GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18 1903 5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

H0 MODEL.

WITNESSES 'ZZZW No. 756.051. v PATENTED MAR. 29, 1904.

- M. H. PLUNKBTT.

STEAM GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18', 1.903.

H0 MODEL. B SHBETMSHBM 4.

0-0000O00O 0000000 0-0000000000 0O 0 O 00 0 00000000000 0000' 000 0 0000 0 O OO 0 00 'flZZa rive m: nonms vrrzns cq Emma-Luna. \vAsmxF-YUN. bc.

No. 756,051. T PATENTED MAR. '29. 1904. M. H. PLUNKETT.

STEAM GENERATOR.

APPLICATION EILED JULY 18, 1903.

R0 MODEL. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

Patented March 29, 1904..

PATENT OFFICE.

MICHAEL H. FLUNKETT, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

STEAM-GENERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Application filed uly 18, 1903.

T0 0/. whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MICHAEL H. PLUNKETT, a citizen of the-United States,residing at Baltimore city, inthe State of Maryland, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Steam-Generators, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention. relates to water-tube boilers 1 or steam-generatorsintended'especiallyfor use with marine, engines, but at the same timeapplicable for use for stationary engines.

The object of the invention is to provide a l steam-generator of thisclass which shall contain straight tubes accessible for inspection,

cleaning, repairing, and replacing-from the I front in such a mannerthat the operation upon one tube will not disturb any other tube.

- A further object of the invention is to provide a steam-generator ofthis class with improved means whereby the water-tubes are permitted toexpand and contract as the fur nace temperature varies without strainingany joints or producing longitudinal stress ofthe tubes.

A further object of the invention is to generally improve theconstruction and increase the heating capacity of steam-generators ofthis class While maintaining simplicity and economy of construction.

With these objects in view the invention consists in asteam-generatonthe construction, arrangement, and combination of theparts of which will be first hereinafter fully described and afterwardspecifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, in which I have illustrated asteam-generator in which the objects of my invention are carried out,

Figure 1 represents a front elevation, a small portion being broken awayto show parts in section and few of the openings in the front of theheaders being shown with their screwplugs in them. Fig. 2 represents avertical section taken on a plane cutting through the boiler from frontto rear on the broken line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a verticalsection taken one. plane cutting through the boiler from front to rearon the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 represents a partial horizontalsection taken on the plane indicated on the Patent No. 756,051, datedMarch-29, 1904.

flerial No. 166,110. (No model.)

line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate a slightly-modifiedconstruction, in which Fig.1 '5 is a front elevation, the headers beingstraight instead of corrugated, and Fig. 6 isa through Fig. '5 fromfront to rear, as indicated by the broken line 6.

:parts in all the figures of the drawings.

dicates the grate-bars; 2, the furnace-chamber or fire-box; 3, the usualdoors to afford access to the fire-box 2 and ash-pit 4E. v

7 '5 and 6 indicate transverse horizontal drums, technically termedmud-drums, and 7 and 8 transverse horizontal steam-drums in the upperpart of the generator, 9 longitudinal pipes connecting the steam drums,and 10 blow-out pipes from the mud-drums 5 and 6.

The generator may be supported upo'n masonry, as at 11, or otherwise inany suitable manner, that portion of the construction forming no part ofmy invention. The mud-drums 5 and 6 may also be supported upon anysuitable structure forming or surrounding the fire-box 2 and ash-pit 4.

The mud-drum 5 and steam-drum 7 are connected by vertical columns 12 attheir ends at each side of the front of the generator, while similarvertical columns 13 at each side of the rear of the generator connectthe mud-drum 6 with the steam-drum 8.

Leading in an upwardly-inclined direction from the front mud-drum 5 area series of large pipes 14:, which pipes enter upright headers 15, whichalternate in a series in the rear of and forming the rear wall of thefurnace-chamber, while a similar series of pipes 16 lead upwardly andforwardly from the rear mud-drum 6 to headers 17, which alternate in aseries located in and forming the front wall of the furnace-chamber.From the headers 15 extend forwardly and upwardly inclined water-tubes18 into headers 19, which alternate with thefront headers in the frontseries of headers, which headers 19 extend from the mud-drum 5 to thesteam-drum 7 are closed at the bottom, and communicate at the top withthe steam-drum 7. i From the front head- In the construction hereinillustrated, 1 invertical sectional view on a plane cutting Likenumerals of reference mark the same I ers 17, which extend upwardly fromthe muddrum 5 and are closed at top and bottom, water-tubes 20 extendrearwardly and upwardly to headers 21, which alternate with the headersand in the series forming the rear wall of the fire-box, said headers 21extending from the mud-drum 6 to the steam-drum 8 and being closed atthe bottom and open at the top, communicating with said steam-drum 8. Itwill thus be seen that the water from the horizontal transverse steam-drum 8 will pass down through the vertical columns 13 to the muddrum 6,from which it will be conveyed through the pipes 16 to headers 17, fromthence by water-tubes and headers 21, and up again to the steam-drum 8,while in like manner the water from the steam-drum 7 passes down throughcolumns 12- to drum 5, thence through pipes 14 to headers 15, thencethrough water-tubes 18 to headers 19, and, finally, back to the drum 7.It will also be seen that the alternating headers 17 and 19 in the frontof the boiler are side by side in pairs, of which there are as manypairs as the width of the boiler will accommodate. The headers 17, asstated before, being closed at top and bottom are loosely mounted andrest at their lower ends on plates 22, mounted on the drum 5 and mayextend, as shown, only part of the height of the headers 19 or the wholelength thereof, the loose mounting of said headers permitting the wholeseries of water-tubes which connect therewith to expand and contract asthe furnace temperature varies without danger of breaking any joints andcausing leakage or other accidents. The headers 15 and 21 of the rearseries also alternate in pairs, the headers 15 being similar inconstruction to headers 17 and resting loosely on plates 23, mounted onthe top of mud-drum 6, so as in a similar manner to permit the expansionand contraction of its connected series of water-tubes without danger ofbreakage or damage. From Fig. 1 it will be observed that the headershave their sides corrugated in order that the different series ofwater-tubes may be staggered in order to prevent the formation of openvertical passages for the gases of combustion through the fire-box, thusbaffiing said gases and utilizing the maximum of their heat by continuedcontact with the witter-tubes. The headers, both front and rear, areformed, as shown in Fig. 1, with openings 24 in their outer faces,through which the water-tubes may be removed for repairing or replacing,said openings being closed by means of screw-plugs, some of which areshown in Fig. 1 at 25. Like openings 26 are provided in the headers forthe removal and replacement of pipes 14 and 16. Said openings may beclosed in any desirable manneras, for instance, by screw-plugs 27.Suitable manholes or hand-holes may be provided for giving access to thedrums, such openings being indicated in Fig. 1, and closed by suitabledoors or plates, as at 28 and 29. The water from the mud-drums 5 and 6is first heated in the pipes 1 1 and 16, which starts its circulationthrough the channels described, the steamdrums being the upper ends ofthe circulation and being connected by longitudinal drums or large pipes9, as before set forth.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 I have illustrated thegenerator with the rear mud and steam drums, their connecting verticalpipes 13, the pipes leading from .the rear mud-drum to the frontheaders, the watertubes leading upward from the front to the rearheaders, and the large pipes connecting the rear steam-drum with thefront steamdrum omitted, the result being substantially one-half themechanism illustrated in the other figures. In these views, Figs. 5 and6, the firebox, grate-bars, doors, and blow-out pipes and the frontmud-drum are of the same construction and are connected by the samereferencenumerals; butin order to properly distinguish this constructionfrom the other I have indicated the remaining parts by the same numeralsused in the other figures with the exponent a added thereto, 1indicating the grate-bars; 2, the furnace-chamber or fire-box; 3, theusual doors to afford access to the fire-box 2 and ashpit 4; 5, thefront mud-drum; 7*, the front steam-drum; 10, the blow-out pipes fromthe mud-drum 5; '11, the masonry upon which the generator may besupported; 12, the vertical columns connecting the mud drum 5 andsteam-drum 7 a at their ends; 1 1, the series of large pipes leading inan upwardly-inclined direction from the mud-drum 5 into upright headers15 at the rear of the generator and forming the rear Wall thereof; 17the front headers, which in this instance are all of'full length, and 18represents upwardly-inclined Water-tubes leading from the headers 15 tothe headers 17 The front headers 17* are supported upon the mud-drum 5,are closed at the bottom, and open into the steam-drum 7 a at the top,extensions thereof, as at 30, located in the steam-drum, serving todischarge the circulating steam and water in the steam-drum at about thewater-level. The rear headers are free to move frontwardly or rearwardlywith the contraction and expansion of the Water-tubes, and baflie-plates31, 32, and 33 are provided to cause the products of combustion to takea zigzag course between the water-tubes and be discharged through anopening 34: into the uptake or smoke-stack. (Not shown.) The course ofcirculation is down from the steamdrum through the downtake-pipes to themuddrum, from the mud-drum to the rear headers by the pipes passingthrough the furnace in a rearwardly and upwardly inclined direction,from the rear headers to the front headers, water-tubes in a rearwardlyand upwardly inclined direction, and from the front headers into thesteam-drum. It will be observed that all the headers in the rear of theboiler are free to move under expansion and contraction at both ends,the front headers being open at the top and closed and free to move atthe bottom. The lower row of pipes from the mud-drum to the rear headersare at a reverse angle to the upper rows of watertubes, so that theascending currents will have free circulation upward. The lower row ofpipes, which first receive the circulating water through thedowntake-columns and muddrum, are subjected to the greatest heat, andthus the circulation cannot be cut oif, as is sometimes the case whenthe circulating water is first fed through tubes at the top instead atthe bottom, which naturally are subjected to the least heat. The headersin Figs. 5 and 6 are shown straight, but may be corrugated, if desired,in order to give the tubes a staggered position.

Having thus fully describedmyinvention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

l. A steam-generator provided with a furnacechamber, a front mud-drum,an upper transverse front steam-drum, vertical columns directlyconnecting the mud-drum and steamdrnm at each end and serving assupports for the steam-drum, front headers resting on the mud-drum anddischarging into the steamdrum, rear headers closed at top and bottomand free to move under expansion and contraction, upwardly-inclinedlarge pipes connecting the mud-drum with the rear headers andupwardly-inclined water-tubes connecting the rear headers with the frontheaders, substantially, as described.

2. A steam-generator provided with a furnace-chamber, a front mud-drum,an upper transverse front steam-drum, vertical columns directlyconnecting the mud-drum and steamdrum at each end and serving assupports for the steam-drum, front headers resting upon the mud-drum andfree to move under expansion and contraction at their lower ends, rearheaders, upwardly-inclined large pipes connecting the mud-drum with therear headers and upwardly-inclined water-tubes connecting the rearheaders with the front headers, substantially as described.

3. A steam-generator, provided with a furnace-chamber and uppertransverse front and rear steam-drums, in combination with a series ofheaders placed side by side and forming a wall of the furnace-chamber,each alternate header communicating at its upper end with a steam-drum,and the intermediate headers being closed-at their upper and lower endsand connections between the intermediate headers and the drum at theopposite end of the generator, substantially as described.

4:. A steam-generator, comprising a furnace-chamber, transverse upperfront and rear steam drums and transverse lower muddrums, in combinationwith a series of vertical headers forming a wall of the furnacechamber,each alternate header being connected at its upper end to a steam-drumand disconnected at its lower end, the intermediate headers being closedat both their upper and lower ends and connections between theintermediate headers and the drum at the opposite end of the generator,substantially as described.

5. A steam-generator, comprising an upper steam-drum, a lower mud-drum,and a series of vertical headers in the plane of and between said drumsforming a wall of said chamber, means for conveying water from thesteamdrum direct to the mud-drum, a series of headers forming theopposite wall of the chamber, pipes communicating between the mud-drumand said opposite headers, water-tubes cominunicating betweensaidopposite headers and alternate headers of the first-mentionedseries, and connections between said alternate headers and thesteam-drum, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

Witnesses:-

S. BRASHEARS, IDA J. FORD.

